On Wednesday, 23 May EuroCitizens
organised a round table about the human cost of Brexit on
UK and Spanish citizens living respectively in Spain and the UK, in the
Madrid offices of the European parliament. 310,000 UK citizens in Spain and over 100,000 Spanish citizens in the UK are still being used as bargaining chips in the BREXIT negotiations. With less than a year to go, UK residents in Spain still have no confirmed rights of free movement within Europe, no rights to provide services across borders, and uncertain recognition of their professional and academic qualifications. For Spanish and UK citizens resident in each other's country, rights of family reunion, dependents and many other similar issues remain unresolved. There is very little time left and politicians on both sides seem blind to the suffering they are causing for over four million people who are living with enormous uncertainty and a bleak future with greatly diminished rights.

On 26 April, EuroCitizens organised an information session in Madrid with the British Consul, Sarah-Jane Morris. The objective was to investigate where we are on citizens’ rights and how we can safeguard our own situations. EuroCitizens vice-chair, Camilla Hillier-Fry, introduced the meeting and updated members on our lobbying activities. Chair, Michael Harris, also a member of the British in Europe steering group, outlined some of the consequences of the current agreement between the EU and the UK, such as lack of freedom of movement and economic rights in the EU-27 for UKinEU. He was critical of government messaging and asked people to channel their anger and frustration into fighting for citizens’ rights. Sarah-Jane Morris clarified points on the agreement and the transition period before making practical suggestions. For most of the session, she answered questions from the floor about a variety of concerns. The meeting was well attended and the consensus seemed to be that it was helpful. EuroCitizens would like to thank Sarah-Jane Morris for coming.

martes, 10 de abril de 2018

Sarah-Jane
Morris, British Consul in Madrid, will be at the Centro Gallego (C/
Carretas, 14, Metro Sol) at 19.00 on Thursday 26 April to attend an open
meeting on citizens’ rights after Brexit organised by the campaigning
group EuroCitizens. She will talk with British residents about their
concerns over Brexit: our legal position until 29 March 2019, what
status we will have during the transition period and afterwards, what we
can do to prepare. Sarah-Jane last met UK nationals in Madrid
back in November 2016 when the consequences of Brexit seemed unclear
(summary). The provisional agreement reached between the EU and the UK
before Easter has clarified some things for UKinEU citizens, though
EuroCitizens and the coalition British in Europe are highly critical of
the deal, expressing concern about a series of outstanding issues such
as our freedom of movement in the EU-27, economic rights,
qualifications, the right to return after absence, family reunification,
voting rights, registration procedures and ring-fencing of citizens’
rights.

The meeting will last about an hour and a half and there
will be plenty of time for questions and debate. If you cannot attend, you can send your question for Sarah-Jane via EuroCitizens: eurocitizens.2016@gmail.com

After nearly two years of uncertainty, the December agreement between the EU and the UK does not safeguard our rights as the British government misleadingly claims. It leaves UKinEU citizens landlocked in one country with no
freedom of movement throughout the EU27. Our economic rights are
severely curtailed and we are deprived of all of our political rights.

This
is simply unacceptable. We must make MPs aware of the plight of the
forgotten 1.2 million Britons in the EU before it is too late.

Writing to MPs is an extremely valuable activity even if you have been out of the country for more than fifteen years.

2. Convince at least one friend or family member in the UK to help us.

Ask
them to write to their MP (even better if not the same one as yours) or
visit their constituency surgery. Remember that on 3 May there will be
local elections in the UK and MPs will be worried about losing
councillors. We will produce a template letter.

A pre-dinner drink, a free choice from a range of primeros, segundos and postres (see the detailed menu below).Half a bottle of wine or draught beer is included per person.

HOW MUCH

A set price of €28.00per person which includes the pre-dinner drink at the bar (a wine, a beer, un refresco,
one drink per person) as from 20.30 when the restaurant opens, followed
by a sit-down dinner (free seating). A small tip is also included in
this price.

The €28.00 per person will be collected in cash at the start of the evening. Please make sure you bring the exact amount with you.

WHO CAN ATTEND

Any supporter of EuroCitizens or family member or friend.

HOW TO SIGN UP

Please send an email to Alan Matthews ( ajrmatthews@gmail.com )
as soon as possible indicating the name(s) of anyone coming with you.
It would be useful if you would let us have your mobile number as well.

So as to be able to inform the restaurant in advance of the exact number coming, it is essential that you confirm your attendance by
Wednesday 17th January at the latest. We will send you a reminder by
email just before the Wednesday. If anything unforeseen happens after
that at the very last moment, please let Alan know.